An Iranian naval vessel sank near Sri Lanka’s southern coast after what initial reports described as a submarine strike, leaving at least 101 crew members missing and 78 injured in a large-scale rescue effort launched early Wednesday morning.

The stricken ship was the IRIS Dena, a Moudge-class frigate of the Iranian Navy’s Southern Fleet, with around 180 sailors on board when the incident occurred. The vessel sent out a distress signal early Wednesday about 40 nautical miles south of Galle, which lies just outside Sri Lanka’s territorial waters.

Sri Lankan authorities responded immediately to the distress call by deploying naval ships and Air Force aircraft to the area to carry out a joint rescue operation. Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath told Parliament that 32 sailors had been pulled from the sinking vessel and taken to hospital in Galle, with many of them wounded.

Health officials at the hospital reported that one sailor is in critical condition, while others are receiving emergency treatment for their injuries.

Officials have not yet confirmed exactly what caused the frigate to sink, and there has been no official statement from the Iranian government regarding the incident or the reported submarine attack. Initial local reports in Sri Lanka quoted an opposition legislator asking in Parliament whether the vessel had been hit as part of ongoing US-Israeli strikes against Iran, but the government did not provide additional detail.

Sri Lankan Navy spokesman Buddhika Sampath explained the country’s response to the emergency, stating, “We responded to the distress call under our international obligations, as this falls within Sri Lanka’s Search and Rescue Area in the Indian Ocean.” Sampath emphasised that Sri Lanka acted according to maritime duty in launching the rescue mission.

Despite the ongoing search efforts, authorities acknowledged that prospects of finding more survivors are diminishing as time passes. With over one hundred crew members still unaccounted for, the Sri Lankan military continued search operations into Wednesday.

The IRIS Dena had taken part recently in international naval events, including the Indian Navy’s multinational Milan exercise and the International Fleet Review hosted in Visakhapatnam, India, in mid-February. The warship was reportedly on its return journey to Iran when the distress signal was sent.

The sinking of the Iranian frigate has drawn international attention, especially given the escalating tensions in West Asia in recent days, though the exact link between the regional conflict and this incident remains unclear.

Sri Lanka’s ongoing rescue and search efforts continue, with military vessels and aircraft still looking for survivors among the missing 101 crew members. Authorities have not yet identified the source of the submarine strike or released further details about the possible involvement of hostile forces.

This tragic maritime incident highlights the dangers naval vessels face in international waters, and investigators and officials from multiple nations may seek more information in the days ahead as more details emerge.